Faciem Veritas
by NotCrazyJustWeird97
Summary: {Rewritten} Verity is different. Special, even. Out of fear for her life, Bobby has her rescued from the institution she has spent the last three years of her life trapped in. Now she's found herself in the eye of the storm, caught in a war to stop the impending apocalypse and save mankind, because hey, that's what Team Free Will does best. Disclaimer - I don't own any of this show
1. The Breakout

**Chapter 1**

_3 years ago … _

_Bobby watched from the doorway. He saw her curled up in the corner, knees hugged to her chest. She was young, small, and scared. A twelve year old little girl with a mop of tangled blonde hair and wide blue eyes filled with a fear that nothing could erase. _

"_She's been like this for a while," the doctor explained. "None of the drugs are helping, neither is any kind of therapy we give her. I honestly don't see how you could help her, but my bosses have told me that we have to give it a try."_

_Bobby nodded. "All I ask is a little privacy. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all. Anything she might tell me stays between me and her. I'm sure you understand?"_

_The doctor smiled and stood back, reaching out to open the door. "Of course, Doctor … Merton, was it?" He opened the door and Bobby stepped in. The girl didn't even look up, not even when the door swung closed with a loud bang. _

"_Verity?" he called softly. "My name is Doctor Merton, I'm a psychiatrist." _

"_Why are you here?" she demanded. "I know that you'll walk out of here thinking that I'm crazy, just like the rest of them. You might as well as just go back out and say there's nothing you can do, that I'm too far gone to save and let them write me off."_

_He approached her and sat beside her. "I believe you, Verity. I'm a different kind of psychiatrist. I've seen a lot of things. I know what you said. About your dad, that is. About his eyes. They were black, weren't they?" _

_She nodded, gulping. When she looked up, Bobby saw the tears in her eyes. "Yeah. They were blacker than anything I've ever seen. I know it wasn't a trick of the light, and it wasn't me being traumatised. They were black!" she insisted. "I'm not crazy like you think."_

"_I don't think you're crazy. I deal with these sorts of things all the time. You know what I think happened?" he said. She shook her head. "I think your dad was possessed by a demon and that made him kill your mom. What you saw was real. I'd like to help you, but I can't do that with you in here, so I need you to do something for me, okay?" _

"_What do I need to do?" she whispered. _

"_Don't mention the eyes. Pretend the drugs work, pretend my talks work and eventually you'll get out of here. When you do, I can protect you. You think you can do that for me?" _

_She was silent for a few moments and then, with a determined grin, she nodded. "I can do that. This talk was very helpful, Doctor Merton. Thank you." _

_He rose to his feet and patted her shoulder, before trailing over to the door. "Don't worry, kiddo," he said. "Everything will work itself out, I promise you."_

_And when he left that room, that scared little girl felt safe again, and Bobby felt happy knowing that she was one step closer to becoming whole again, all because of him, and his assurances that she was not alone and that he would get her out. Which was exactly what he planned to do that day three years later._

* * *

_Now … _

Dean glanced at Sam urgently. They had gone to Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital with two goals in mind. One: to help Martin and gank whatever was killing people. Two: to locate one Verity Greene and get her the hell out of dodge. The first goal, however, would have to be put on hold until they found Verity. There would be no way of getting her after they killed the monster.

Currently, they were waiting for the nurse to leave her room so that they could sneak in and grab her. Finally the door opened and out stepped the nurse. She smiled at the girl in the room. "Don't worry, Verity," she called. "You'll be asleep in minutes. No more nightmares tonight."

After pulling the door shut and locking it to keep the girl in, she pushed her trolley off down the hall, whistling to herself. Dean nodded and Sam darted forward, peering through the window. Verity was sitting on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around herself. Sam pulled his own stolen key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. She looked up as the door opened.

"Who are you?" she demanded, voice filled with fear. She jumped to her feet and backed away.

"Verity … Eri … calm down, okay? My name's Sam, I'm a friend of Bobby's. He sent me and my brother here. We're here to bust you out, you understand?" he whispered hurriedly.

She frowned, eyes narrowed. "You know Bobby?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm a hunter too. Come on, we don't have much time. We have to go now. There's a monster in this hospital and before we leave, we have to kill it." She didn't move. "Verity, please. You have to trust me."

Finally she nodded and walked towards him. He held out a hand as she neared. Reluctantly, she reached out and took it. She almost laughed at the different between the size of their hands. Before she could say anything, Sam had pulled her out of the room and over to Dean.

Dean smiled briefly. "Nice to meet you, Eri," he greeted. "You ready for your first hunt?" She shook her head wildly. "Don't worry about it, it'll be a breeze. After all, you've got me and Sam here. We'll be doing most of the work, you just have to jump in if things get desperate, okay?"

She laughed then, earning surprised looks from the brothers. "Sorry, it's just that you two are in here, of all places. I guess that means you're meant to be crazy too, right? Three psychiatric patients hunting a monster. That's going to go down, well, huh?" she said. "I just hope we don't get caught, because we'll have a hard time explaining this."

"Yeah, I guess. Come on, let's get out of here, we have to find out who did this."

The three of them hurried off the ward. As they were heading to Martin's room, they heard a scream and exchanged a look.

"It came from that way," Sam declared, pointing in the direction of the noise. Immediately, they took off running and found themselves bursting through the door of Wendy's room. Eri let out a shocked cry at the figure leaning over Wendy's body. Her wrists had been sliced open and blood was running down her arms, staining the bedsheets.

Karla stood up with a grin on her face. "Surprised? Well, I sure am. Verity, however did you get off the ward?" she asked, walking towards her. Dean pulled a silver letter opener from his pocket as she neared. "Dean, really? That's how this is going to be?"

"What are you?" Eri questioned quietly. Karla laughed and then threw herself forward, knocking Dean aside as the letter opener fell to the ground. She swung out, hitting Sam, who was thrown backwards against the wall, leaving Eri to fight the battle alone.

"You don't even know what you're going up against? What, those two didn't tell you?" she said, getting closer and closer until she had the young girl pinned against the door. "I'm a Wraith, sweetie. I feed off the crazy, and I can just feel it radiating off you. I know what you've been through and what you saw. You're going to be a great dessert."

She grabbed Eri's head, and she felt the spike start to emerge, piercing her skin as it did. A scream ripped from her throat and her heart started pounding in her chest. She willed her hands to move, to do something, but it was like she was frozen in fear. The pain in her head was intense, blindingly so. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and then Karla gasped and looked down at the letter opener sticking out of her chest. She crumpled, falling to the floor, the spike sliding out of her head.

Dean caught her before she hit the ground and a weak smile came over her face as she breathed, "Thank you." He scooped her up in his arms, holding her tightly to his chest.

"Sammy, come on!" he urged as his brother groaned, pulling himself to his feet. "We've got to move now! Guards will be here any minute and I can't move as fast as usual. Damn it, she's heavy."

"What about Wendy?" Sam demanded. They glanced over to her. Her chest was rising and falling gently.

He firmly replied, "She'll be fine, but we have to go now!" He barrelled out of the room and down the hall, hearing Sam's footsteps behind him as he rushed to get out of the hospital. Eri was unconscious by that point, her head lolling against his arm. He was just thankful that the hard part was over. It didn't take long until they were outside, basking in the cool night air, and the alarm was sounding their escape behind them.

Dean let out a sigh of relief and slowed as they reached the car. "Looks like Tom Cruise was right, shrinks suck," he declared, nodding for Sam to open the back door so he could slide Eri in. "What is it about this kid, anyway? Why was Bobby so desperate to get her out of there? I mean, he was practically begging us to do it."

"I'm just as clueless as you are," Sam muttered. Dean gave him a look.

"What's the matter with you? We ganked the monster, we saved the day, why do you look so damn depressed?" he asked.

He sighed. "When I was reading up about Wraiths, I found something out. They don't actually make you crazy, they just build on what's already there. The rage, the fear, all of it. And Dean, it makes sense. It's true. Most of the time, I can hide it, but I am angry. I used to be mad at you and Dad, and then Lilith, and now Lucifer. I make excuses. I blame Ruby or the demon blood, but it's not their fault. It's not them, it's _me_. It's inside _me._ I am mad _all _the time, and I don't even know _why_," he explained. He stopped, stared at Dean, chest heaving.

"Stop. Stop it," Dean ordered. He stepped closer. "So what if you are? What are you gonna do, take a leave of absence? You gonna say yes to Lucifer? What?"

He throw his hands up in the air. "No, of course not, I -"

Dean cut him off. "Exactly. And that's exactly what you're gonna do, you're gonna take that crap and bury it. Because that's how we keep going! That's how we don't end up like Martin. Are you with me?" Sam stared at him. "Come on, man, are you with me?"

"I'm with you."

"Good. Then let's haul ass back to Bobby's and forget that we ever had this talk," he said, making his way to the car. He looked into the backseat, where Eri was still out for the count. "I cannot wait to find out what the deal is with her."

* * *

Bobby was sitting on the front porch when they arrived, waiting anxiously. Eri, now wide awake despite the giant headache, clambered from the car. A grin spread across her face.

"Bobby, it really is you!" she cried, running up the porch steps and throwing her arms around him. "It's been months!" She looked down and her face fell. "Oh, God, what the hell happened to you, old timer?"

"Demon got up inside me," he replied gruffly. "I fought it off and wound up with a knife in my gut and legs that don't work anymore. But never mind me, how are you holding up, kiddo?"

She smiled and looked around her. "Well, I'm out of the crazy farm now, so I'm actually not too bad. You mind explaining why you had those two carry out the great escape though, because much as I'm happy to see you, I'm also a little confused."

He sighed and signalled for Eri, Sam and Dean to follow him inside. "It's the apocalypse, Eri. It's happening now, the Devil is free and wandering around God's green earth, and he wants to wipe out the whole human race. He already went after a cambion because of his powers, and with you being what you are, I didn't want him getting his hands on you. A Wraith already got into the hospital, I don't doubt that a demon could get in too."

"Wait, with what she is?" Dean repeated. "What is she?" Eri shuffled her feet, chewed her lip and avoided his gaze. "Somebody tell me what the hell is going on around here!"

"I'm Nephilim," she answered. "Half-angel, half-human. I didn't know until my mother was killed. My parents weren't actually my real parents, so I didn't have a clue what I was. And then I started talking about demons and Bobby found me. He figured it out about a year ago and told me what I was. Guess it makes sense that the Devil would want me. A Cambion and a Nephil together? You'd have two powerful weapons."

Sam rubbed his jaw. "Well, that explains a lot. Bobby, why didn't you tell us?" he demanded.

"Hell, Castiel wanted to kill that little boy, I guessed he would have no qualms about killing her too. She's probably considered an abomination to his kind! I couldn't risk her getting hurt," he replied. "But now I don't have much of a choice. I couldn't risk a demon getting her, and I can't protect her myself. I'm asking you boys to take her with you, keep her close and protect her. You can probably do a better job than me right now."

Dean nodded. "I'm guessing she has powers then?"

Eri laughed softly. "That's a dumb question, of course I do. Using them though? Different story. The hospital wasn't the best place to practice them, so they're a little wild sometimes. But I can learn if I'm careful. I can help you guys on hunts."

"Okay, Bobby. We'll take her with us. But for now, we don't tell Cas anything. We don't risk him finding out about her, the last thing we want is a repeat of Jesse." He turned to Eri. His next words made her smile.

"Welcome to Team Free Will. You're in for a hell of a ride."

* * *

**Tada! Faciem Veritas rewritten. I had no inspiration for the last one, so I wanted to switch things around and bring Eri in for the apocalypse. I know there was a bit of an info-dump there, but I think I should explain that basically, Eri's mother was killed by her dad, who was possessed by a demon. They weren't her real parents so she didn't know what she was. Her dad escaped and she was sent to the psychiatric hospital, where Bobby found her. He knew she was different but not how until he met Castiel and figured it all out. Now Lucifer is free and he's worried so he had her busted out. **

**Shit's gonna go down. I hope you enjoy this, please let me know what you think, et cetera, et cetera. I love you guys and I'll try to update soon, but please bear with me. **

**Love Beth xxx**


	2. Swap Meat Part 1

**Chapter 2**

Even while she slept, it was obvious that something was plaguing Eri greatly. Dean watched as her head moved rapidly from side to side, as her face screwed up in agony and her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her knuckles turned an alarming shade of white. She groaned and whimpered. Finally, it became too much for the hunter and he stood up to go to her, but the scraping of his chair along the hardwood floor made her wake with a start.

"Dean?" she rasped, sitting up and looking around, eyes wide and scared.

"Yeah," he said, "it's me. You okay, kiddo?"

She shook her head, chewing on her lower lip. "No, not really. Nightmares again." She noted the concern on his face and hurriedly added, "No biggie though. It happens a lot, I'm used to it by now."

Dean sat beside her on the lumpy, uncomfortable bed, pulling the duvet taut of Eri's legs as he did so, and causing the mattress to dip under his weight. "You sure? I've been there, Eri. The lack of sleep, the nightmares, the constant worrying. I know that it can take a real toll on you. If you ever need anyone to vent to if you're pissed off or scared or whatever, I'll gladly listen."

"Thanks, Dean," she murmured, flashing the briefest of smiles at him before she cleared her throat and cast her eyes around the room, a frown appearing on her face as she did so. "Where's Sam?"

"He's showering," he answered. "Once he's done, you can get cleaned up and then we'll meet Donna and then go grab a bite to eat. When was the last time you ate a cheeseburger?"

She grinned and replied with, "Years ago. But I'm really looking forward to trying one again. Needless to say, they don't tend to give mental patients the best meals. Meatloaf and mashed potato gets a little boring after a while, believe it or not."

"Oh, I believe you, all right." They heard the shower switch off and Dean stood up. "Trust me, you won't be disappointed with your reunion with real, good food."

"I know I won't," Eri told him, pushing back the duvet and clambering out of the bed. "This is going to be good, I can tell."

* * *

Eri sat on the sofa, sandwiched in between Sam and Dean as they spoke to their old babysitter and her family. She was silent pretty much the whole time, until Donna turned to Dean and asked, "So, is this your daughter?"

He cast an incredulous look at her as Sam snorted with laughter. "No! No, no, no!" he cried quickly. "Not mine, definitely not."

"Cliff notes version is that Sam and Dean have taken me under their wing as a favour to a friend of ours," Eri explained. "That's all there is to it, I assure you."

"Gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any offence," Donna told her, a stricken look on her face.

She laughed. "Don't worry about it. You didn't cause any offence. I can kinda see where you got the idea from, honestly. I mean, you haven't seen him in years and we both have blonde hair and he kinda likes to meet women a lot, so ..." As Dean glowered at her, she let her voice trail off and looked down at her feet.

Sam looked at Donna's daughter. "Katie, our dad happened to be an expert at getting rid of ghosts," he said, "and now so are we."

"That's why I called them, sweetie. They can help us," Donna added.

Eri and Dean looked up as Donna's husband entered, carrying a stack of suitcases. "Sounds like you guys have got yourself a poltergeist," Dean informed the family.

Eri's jaw dropped. "Those actually exist?" she asked, eyes widened in surprise. Sam nodded and she shook her head slowly in disbelief.

"It started a month or two after we moved in," Donna's husband said, setting the bags down by the door.

"At first it was just bumps and knocks and scratches on the walls and then it started breaking things."

"And then it attacked Katie?" Sam asked.

Donna's husband nodded. "That was two nights ago."

"Can you show them, honey?" Donna inquired softly, looking at her daughter with gentle eyes. Eri felt a lump rise in her throat. She couldn't remember the last time her mother looked at her like that and she felt a pang of jealousy.

Katie slowly pushed the blanket off her lap and stood up. She gave a small sigh before pulling up her t-shirt, exposing the scratches on her stomach. Eri felt a little sick and from the worried look Dean gave her, she guessed that it probably showed.

"'Murdered child'," Sam read aloud, brow furrowing slightly.

Dean leaned forward in his seat, looking Katie in the eye. "Katie," he began, "everything's gonna be fine, I promise. Why don't you guys take yourselves a little vacation and we'll take care of it."

Donna smiles and nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

"Were you all right back there?" Sam asked, as they sat in the diner, waiting for Dean to order the food and return to the table. "You looked a little pale when Katie showed off those marks."

She shrugged. "It's weird, you know. I never thought a ghost could do that. I feel so sorry for her. It must have been terrifying to go through it," she said.

He reached over and patted her hand gently. "Don't worry about it. We're gonna find out who's haunting them, find the remains, and then it's just a simple salt and burn. Nothing too awful for your first case, right?"

"Right," she agreed hesitantly. Her voice shook a little bit and she looked at him with a kind of fear in her eyes that made him realise she needed him to reassure her. "And you guys will be right there the whole time, and I don't have anything to worry about?"

"Nothing at all," he promised her.

The moment was interrupted as Dean sat down and handed Sam his HealthQuake Salad Shake, and gave a large quarter pounder with cheese to Eri. She looked down at it in amazement, her mouth watering slightly as she took in the sight of the burger and fries, and within seconds, she had torn a huge chunk out of it, a blissful look coming over her. Dean grinned as the girl's eyes glazed over a little.

"This is freaking amazing," she breathed after she had swallowed the mouthful. "I've never been so happy to see a burger in all my life."

Sam shook his head in disgust. "God, you're as bad as Dean," he muttered.

She scowled at him. "Actually, I just appreciate great food, and this is incredible," she replied.

Dean snickered at her response and Sam just sighed as he squeezed salad dressing onto his salad and proceeded to start shaking it with one hand as he navigated around on his laptop with the other. He looked up as he felt Dean's eyes on him.

"Oh, you shake it up, baby," Dean said. Sam said nothing, just cleared his throat in annoyance. "You know, poltergeist aside, Donna looked pretty good, don't you think?"

"Dude, don't tell me you've still got the hots for our babysitter."

Dean at least had the decency to look shocked, earning a chuckle from Eri and a look that told him she saw straight through his lie. "I'm just saying that, you know, she's doing good. With her husband and her kid, and this whole Amityville thing. I mean, they're hanging tough … You ever think that you'd want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine?"

Sam shrugged. "No. Not really my thing anymore."

"Anymore?" Eri repeated. "So, at one time, it would've been your thing?"

He looked her in the eye. "Bobby didn't tell you? About me and Jess?" She shook her head. "Oh. I had a girlfriend, a few years ago, and she was killed. It's how I got back into hunting."

"Jesus. Sam, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

He held up his hand. "Hey, it's fine, you didn't know. It's been, like, four years. I've adjusted."

There was an awkward silence, until Dean asked, "So, what have you got?"

"Uh, well, that house of theirs, it's old. Really old, hundreds of years, and I found a legend. It's unconfirmed, but supposedly in the 1720's, it was own by a guy named Isaiah Pickett. Legend has it that he hung a woman in his backyard for witchcraft." He turned to laptop to face Dean and Eri, revealing an old article: **'Maggie Briggs: Witch?' **"A woman named Maggie Briggs."

Dean nodded. "Okay, so an angry ghost witch."

"If it's true. Still doesn't explain what murdered child means."

"No. Or where the bitch is buried."

Sam stared at the screen, his face screwed up in concentration. "I mean, it's a long way back but maybe I could find something in the town records."

"It's worth a shot," Dean agreed.

Eri looked up and frowned as she noticed a kid behind the counter watching the group, smirking. She muttered to Dean, "I think we have an admirer." He followed her gaze and frowned. Her next words made him snort with laughter. "I'm pretty sure he's checking Sam out."

Sam glared at her and she shut up immediately, turning back to her food without another word on the subject.

* * *

Dean shut his phone and turned to Eri. "Sam's on his way back, he can't find anything on Maggie Briggs. You having any luck?"

She shook her head. "Nada. You know, you guys need to invest in a faster computer because this is driving me crazy. How do you even cope with this most of the time?" she asked. "Hey, maybe we should call Bobby. He has connections, he might be able to find something."

He sat across from her and reached over, pushing the laptop lid down. "Is this your subtle way of telling me you want to call Bobby because you miss him?"

"... Maybe ..."

"Hey, go ahead, kiddo." He handed over his phone. "Knock yourself out."

She frowned and looked from him to the phone and back again. "Are you sure about that?" she asked. "You're really gonna let me borrow your phone? Aren't you worried I might break it?"

"Should I be? Because if I should, just tell me and I'll take it back right now," he said.

She held it to her chest defensively. "No," she replied quickly. "It's fine, I'll be careful." She stared at it in confusion and muttered, "As soon as I can figure out how to use it. Dude, times have changed in the last three years." She looked up pleadingly. "Help me."

He took the phone and manoeuvred his way to the phone book, locating Bobby's number and pressing the call button, before handing it back over. "Enjoy."

A smile spread across her face as she heard Bobby's gruff old voice on the other end, and Dean let out a soft chuckle as he stood up to grab a beer. He watched her from the kitchenette as she chatted away happily, smiling and laughing and asking questions. Finally, she hung up the phone and placed it on the table. "Bobby's going to look into it and get back to us on it. Thanks for letting me use your phone."

"No problem," he replied. "Anytime you wanna borrow it, just ask. Once you've figured out how to use it on your own, I'll get you one. You'll need it."

"You don't have to do that for me. I mean, I know they cost a lot of money, and -"

He cut her off. "Hey. Don't worry about it. We know a guy who gets us old phones for a cheap price. They're kind of a must-have in this business, especially if you're in a bind on a hunt and you need to reach another hunter for help."

She surprised him as she jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," she mumbled into his shirt.

He slowly began to hug her back, feeling himself relax in her arms. Hey, maybe having her around would actually end up doing him some good.

* * *

**So, there's chapter 2. I'll try to get chapter 3 done and uploaded tomorrow, but I have work, so I can't guarantee anything. I'm really liking this story so far, and I hope you guys are too. I'd like to thank Hardfaced Queen of Misadventure, Marlowee1856, Embersplash and casleepy for taking the time to review/favourite/follow the story :) **

**Beth xxx**


	3. Swap Meat Part 2

**Chapter 3**

It had been hours since Sam had called, and Eri and Dean had been out searching for what felt like forever. Finally, they arrived back at the motel, exhausted, worried and pissed off all at the same time. Eri pushed open the door and a curse slipped out of her mouth because there, right in front of her, was Sam.

Dean pushed past her into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. "Sam," he snapped. "Where the hell have you been, man? I've been trying to call you for hours."

"I picked up some food," Sam answered, pointing to a paper bag. "Bacon Burger Turbo, large chilli-cheese fry, right?" He glanced at Eri. "And you had a cheese quarter-pounder, curly fries."

She nodded slowly, eyes narrowed. Cautiously, she accepted the bag, which Dean then snatched from her hands as Sam watched them. "Sorry, man, I just lost track of time. Didn't mean to freak you out," he said.

"Thanks," Dean replied. "Dunno why it took you two hours, but thanks." He went to unwrap the bag and Sam put his hand out to interrupt him.

"You're gonna want to eat that on the road," he said.

The older brother frowned. "Why?" he asked.

"The maid came in, saw that, and now they're all freaking out," he answered. Eri followed his gaze to the collection of guns lying on the bed. Her hand flew to her forehead as she huffed in irritation.

Dean turned to him with a look of disbelief on his face. "Why'd you let the maid in?" he demanded.

From behind, Eri piped up, "And why the hell did you leave all the guns on the bed? Seriously, that way lies disaster. You guys need to stop that, because stuff like this happens."

"It just happened!" Sam cried.

"Whatever. I've gotta hit the head and then we'll take off," Dean said. He took off for the bathroom, leaving Sam and Eri alone in the room.

He winked at her. "So … Eri … how old are you?" Needless to say, she nearly collapsed in surprise before spluttering, "E-excuse me?"

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked.

She turned away from him, hands on her hips, muttering to herself, "I didn't hear that. I did not hear that. He did not just ask me that. In fact, he didn't say anything. That was just me being crazy-pants … again."

He bounced on the balls of his feet awkwardly, swinging his arms. Then he cleared his throat and croaked, "Well, I'm gonna go start the car."

"Yeah, you do that," she snarled. As he went for the door, he could've sworn he heard her mutter, "Idiot." She waited until he was gone and Dean exited to the bathroom to ask, "Does Sam seem a little weird to you? I mean, I know I haven't known you guys long, I only met you, like, three days ago, but he seems off, even to me."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Dean assured her with a shrug of his shoulders. He patted her arm. "C'mon, get your stuff and let's go."

She grabbed her bag from the foot of her bed. "Got my stuff."

Sam was sitting patiently on the passenger side of the Impala's front seat, looking around awkwardly as Eri and Dean approached. Having learned the rules already, Eri clambered into the backseat and dumped her bag beside her, reaching up to grab her seatbelt and buckle herself in. Sam's voice caught her attention as he turned to Dean and asked, "Hey … Can I drive?"

Dean stared at him for a minute before cautiously agreeing and switching sides. Eri watched in amusement as Sam sat there for a little while, just revving the engine and as a result, pissing his brother off and causing him to snap, "You wanna get the lead on, Andretti? Come on." He looked down and what he saw clearly alarmed him, but Sam had already put his foot down. "Reverse, reverse! You -"

He was cut off as the car shot backwards into the bins behind them and several black bags tumbled down onto the trunk.

"It's in reverse," Dean snarled. Sam took that as his cue to get out.

"I am really sorry," he told him.

"Shut up."

* * *

The trio walked along the pier slowly, Eri trailing behind slightly, but still close enough that she could hear the conversation. Her eyes wandered, taking in the shops, the people milling around … the smell of fish hanging heavy in the air. Her nose screwed up in disgust and she frowned as she heard Sam declare, "Yeah, she's in the basement."

"Basement? Who's in whose basement?" she asked.

He looked at her with a triumphant grin on his face. "Isaiah Pickett's house. Okay, so there's this legend that he hung her, but he didn't. The real truth is that she was carrying his illegitimate child and he killed her and then buried her in the basement," he explained.

A look of realisation came over Dean's face. "The murdered child."

"Makes sense," Eri cut in. "I'd be pretty pissed if I were her. I mean, not only did he kill her, but their baby too? That's just cold and sick. No wonder she's so furious."

"It would explain the scratches," he agreed, before looking at Sam in surprise. "How do you know all this?"

"I've done all kinds of research on it!" Sam replied enthusiastically. "I mean, you know, last night." They clambered into the car and Dean's music began to play. "Oh, man, turn it up!"

Dean's eyes widened, his face screwing up in doubt. "Seriously?" he asked.

"Hell yeah!"

Well, Dean sure as hell wasn't going to take the opportunity to listen to his music without Sam bitching, and so, he was all too happy to comply with his brother's request as they pulled out of the pier and began to drive off to Donna's home. It was time to end this bitch, once and for all.

* * *

The basement was dank, cold and dusty. Eri eyed the rickety wooden stairs suspiciously, glaring at them brusquely. Dean turned to her when she didn't follow him down. "Something wrong?" he questioned, eyebrows raised.

"I don't trust those stairs. They look like they might attempt to murder me," she replied.

"Okay, seriously?" He sighed and held out his hand for her to take. "One step at a time, you won't die. C'mon, we have a job to do."

She followed him slowly, squeezing his hand like it was the best thing she'd ever seen in her life. When her feet hit solid ground, her legs stopped trembling quite so much and she released her grip. From behind her, she heard Sam exclaim, "Boo-yah! Master Chief is in the house, biz-atches!"

Dean gave him an incredulous look. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine," Sam answered.

He shook his head and continued forward until they reached a box of soil with some kind of moss growing over the top. "Well, I'll be damned," he muttered. "Willow moss."

"Yeah, it grows over witches' graves, right?"

This time, they both frowned at Sam. "You're the hunter, shouldn't you know this one?" Eri said.

"I'm with her," Dean added. "Come on, man, seriously. What's with all the dumb questions today?"

Sam shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just refreshing my memory, that's all."

He shook his head and looked at Eri. "Wanna help dig up a body?" he asked her. She nodded enthusiastically and he set down his duffel bag, pulling out two shovels and handing her one. Together, they began scooping up soil and throwing it onto the ground, revealing the white bones beneath.

"Hey, man, I'm really sorry about this!" Sam called from the other side of the room.

"Sorry about what?" Dean replied.

Before he could answer, he gave a grunt and there was a loud crash. Eri and Dean whirled around to find that he'd been thrown into a wall.

"Sam!" he bellowed. He ran over and yanked his brother to his feet. "Keep digging, kid!" His hands grasped at Sam's shoulders. "You okay?"

The taller of them looked terrified. "Let's get the hell out of here!" he cried.

He looked as if he'd never heard anything so dumb in his entire life. "We've still gotta burn the body, you idiot!" he snapped, pointing Sam in the direction of the grave. And then it was his turn to get thrown backwards.

"Dean!" Eri yelped. "Oh, shit! Shit, shit, shit!" She reached into the bag and pulled out some oil and a matchbook. "What now?"

"The … salt!" Dean roared between punches. "Pour it … on … the body!"

She nodded. "Oh, right, of course. Silly me," she muttered. Sam tossed her the can of salt and she flipped it open, sprinkling it over the remains. Add oil, and cook using the matches. She watched as the bones burned, and the ghost along with it.

"Dude," Sam exclaimed. "That was sweet."

She collapsed against the wall. "I just killed a ghost," she breathed. "Holy bananas!"

Dean made his way over and clapped her on the shoulder, flashing her a grin. "Thanks, kid. You did good," he congratulated. His hand flew to his side. "Damn, my stomach hurts."

"C'mon," she murmured, standing up and putting his arm over her shoulders, providing him with something to lean on. "Let's go back to the motel. I need food and sleep."

"I have a better idea," Dean countered. "Let's grab a drink."

* * *

Eri was going insane. She was sweating harder than she had in years, her hair flying everywhere, eyes wide with excitement. And through the rapidly gathering crowd, she could see Dean watching her like a hawk, even as he talked to Sam. Because right then, for the first time in God only knew how long, she was dancing … and she was loving it. The bar's DJ was playing tracks she had never even heard before and yet she was rocking out to them anyway, her hips moving in time to the beats, clapping rhythmically, waving her hands in the air like she just didn't care. With her heart banging in her chest, she finally slowed to a stop and began to weave her way through the people until she reached Dean. Sam had gone over to the bar and was chatting with a random blonde.

"Were you having fun, by any chance?" Dean asked.

She beamed at him. "I was having a brilliant time!" she replied. "God, that was exhilarating!" She hopped up onto the bar stool opposite him and reached across to grab a French fry from his plate, munching on it happily.

Dean chuckled. "D'you want your own food?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm good with eating yours." And then she spotted Sam trailing after his new friend as she went to the door. He stopped, beamed at Eri and Dean and squealed, "We're gonna do it!" before disappearing outside.

"'We're gonna do it'?" Eri repeated. "Tell me that wasn't even a little bit weird."

"That was _really _weird. What the hell is wrong with him today?" Dean mused. His eyes grew wide and he stopped up suddenly. "Get up, we need to go now."

"O-okay, sure," she stammered, muttering under her breath, "Great, now they're both insane." Things were about to get pretty interesting, it seemed.

* * *

The motel room was dark, and silent. Deathly silent. Eri heard the creaking of the door from her spot on the bed, with the duvet pulled up over her head. She knew Dean was lurking in the shadows, waiting for Sam to return. She could hear the footsteps approaching. The soft click of a gun and then silence before the sound of a blow met her ears. She threw off the duvet and sat up to find Dean gripping Sam's jacket tightly in his hands.

"You're not Sam," he snarled. A gun was hanging loosely from Sam's fingertips. "Who the hell are you?" He shook him roughly. "Who are you?!"

He wouldn't answer. His mouth just opened and shut like a fish gasping for air. With an irritated growl, Dean shoved him into a chair and turned to Eri. "There's rope in my bag, get it for me." He didn't have to ask twice. She jumped from the bed and crossed the room quickly, scooping up his bag and rifling through it until she found what he wanted and handed it over. He began to loop it around the imposter, tying it in a tight knot before picking up the phone to check his voicemail.

Eri sat down on the bed and looked the imposter directly in the eye. "What's your name?" she asked him softly.

"G-Gary," he replied, eyes darting around quickly. As she looked closer, she realized that he was shaking like a leaf on a breezy day. Dean slammed the phone back on the hook and strolled over to them.

"All right, pal, either you start talking or I start waterboarding," he warned.

The threat was enough to make Gary starting begging, "Oh, my God, don't kill me! _Please _don't kill me! I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!"

Dean clapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, pull it together, champ," he said.

"I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die!" Gary mumbled.

"Where's Sam?" the hunter demanded loudly.

"In my friend's basement," he admitted. "His parents are out of town."

Dean and Eri exchanged a look of confusion as Dean repeated, "Parents? How old are you?"

Gary answered, "I'm seventeen."

"Seventeen? Huh."

Suddenly, Dean was launched backwards in the cabinet behind him, hitting it with an almighty crash and knocking everything onto the floor. Eri let out a scream and covered her mouth with her hands. As her head snapped up, she saw a girl in the room. No one had even noticed her enter. She was young, with flaming red hair and eyes that lit up as they landed on Eri.

"Nora?" Gary gasped, jaw dropping as she stepped closer.

Her eyes flashed black. "Not at the moment." Eri began to tremble and stumble backwards away from her, a scream ripping from her throat as she began to grab handfuls of her hair and tug on it, muttering, "No. No. No!" repeatedly. The demon looked at her with a sickening grin. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll get to you in a minute, 'kay?"

She turned to Gary and began to untie him. "Boy, you sure earned your dessert tonight, kiddo. What is it you want?" she asked.

"Anything?"

"Anything. Lay it on me."

Gary stood tall and squared his shoulders. "I wanna be a witch," he told her. "A real one. And really powerful."

She smirked at him and nodded. "Good choice," she said. "I get it. No Daddy, no MIT, no plan. You get to be big and strong and no one can tell you what to do anymore." She stood over Dean as he laid, unconscious, on the floor. "There's just one small formality first. You've gotta meet the boss."

"The boss?" Gary repeated.

"You know, your satanic majesty or whatever the kids are calling it these days," she explained. Eri slowly sank to the floor, shaking her head as she realised what that meant. Lucifer.

"You mean the devil?" Gary asked. "Uh … no, okay. Um, it's okay. I don't really wanna bother him."

The demon looked him in the eye, brow furrowing a little bit as she said, "But he's gonna want to meet you. Relax, it'll be easy. He's just gotta ask you one little question and all you've gotta do is say yes."

Eri burst out, "No!" Gary looked over at her as she slowly rose from her spot in the corner. "He wants that body. He wants Sam. Sam's his vessel. He will take you over and then he will burn this whole planet to the ground because he feels like it. Do you get that?"

"That's enough now, sweetie. Now pipe down!" the demon snapped

"I will _not_ pipe down. You and your boss have got another thing coming if you think for a single second that I'm going to go down without a fight." Her eyes began to glow an eerie silver and the corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk. "You haven't got a clue what you're dealing with."

The demon looked stunned. She took a step forward, balling her hands up into fists. Her voice shook as she demanded, "What are you?"

"Are you sure you wanna find out … sweetie?"

"Exorciamus te, omnis immundus."

Both the demon and Eri furrowed their brows and looked to Gary. "What was that?" the demon asked, facing turning red as she glared at him.

Gary rubbed the back of his neck and stuttered, "N-nothing."

"Were you trying to exorcise me?" she shouted. "You little piece of crap!" She lunged at his neck, but she didn't get very far before Eri blurted out, "Spiritus, omnis satanica potestas."

"Omnis incursio infernalis adversii."

"Omnis congregatio."

"Et secta diabolica."

"Ergo, draco maledicte."

"Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire."

"Te rogamus!" Eri paused, leaned down to look the demon in the eyes and slowly, deliberately, finished with, "Audi nos." Black smoke poured from the demon's mouth, shooting up the vent in the ceiling and disappearing from sight as its former host dropped to the ground.

From the floor, Dean stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around at the shaking Eri, pale Gary and the unconscious girl lying beside him. "Did I miss something?"

* * *

"Animae domum redeant. Fas atque nefas instauretur. Potestate et auctoritate, sic fiat."

It had been a long night for the Winchesters and Eri, and she was glad to see Sam returned to his normal, six foot two, well-built self. And yet, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Gary as he stood up and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

Dean cleared his throat and looked at him long and hard. "So … Gary -"

Gary interrupted with a quick, "I know – my bad."

"'My bad'? Kid, 'my bad' ain't gonna cut it. See, because if you were of voting age, you'd be dead. Because we would kill you. So, you either straighten up and fly right or we will kill you. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," the teenager squeaked.

Eri patted him on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you and Nora home."

* * *

Eri watched from the car as Dean pulled up outside Gary's house and along with Sam, Gary and Nora, clambered from the vehicle. Meanwhile, Eri pulled her legs up, resting her feet on the leather of the backseat and hugging her knees tightly. She looked at the family home and felt the ghost of a smile. Boy, she remembered having a house like that. An apple pie life. White picket fence, a dog, two devoted parents and an annoying little sister. The whole nine yards.

"What I would give to have that back," she mumbled to herself. Her mouth snapped closed as Sam and Dean climbed into the front seat.

"That was a nice thing to say," Dean was telling Sam.

Sam shrugged and shook his head. "I totally lied. That kid's life sucked ass. All that apple-pie, family crap? It's stressful. Trust me – we didn't miss much."

"Or we don't know what we're missing."

_A lot, _whispered the voice in the back of Eri's head. _You're missing out on so much, believe me._ But her thoughts settled as Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets began to blast loudly from the stereo and Sam regarded Dean with a look of equal parts annoyance and disgust.

"Oh, come on, man. Turn it down."

Sam was most definitely back to his normal self once more.

**TADA! I know, I know, I've been away for months and months and even more months. Please forgive me. I was trying to find the inspiration and the motivation to write again and I just finally decided to crack on and finish this chapter. Soooooo … let me know what you think and I love you all, you wonderful people. Adios! **

**Beth xxx**


	4. The Song Remains The Same Part 1

**Chapter 4**

Eri was woken rather suddenly by Dean patting her leg and muttering urgently, "C'mon, kid, wake up!" Her eyes blearily opened one after the other and she stared at him.

"Whaddya want?" she mumbled.

"You need to wake up. Sam, get your ass out of bed, it's Anna!"

She rolled onto her back and watched as Sam sat up quickly, a look of confusion scrawled across his face. One large hand came up to rub his face and push his hair back. "What?" he asked. "Anna? What happened?"

Dean glanced at him as he threw clothes into a bag. "She came to me in a dream, and she needs our help. Cas sent to her prison, and now she's out and she needs us. We have to go now."

"Wait, hold on a second. Cas sent her to prison?"

"He turned her in to the angels!"

Eri held up one finger. "Sorry, but who is Anna?"

Sam looked over to her as he threw back his duvet and climbed out of bed, explaining, "Anna's an angel. She fell from Heaven a long time ago and last year we helped her to get her grace back. She vanished for a while. Now, apparently, she's back and she's in trouble." He turned to Dean. "Maybe we should call Cas for this one."

Dean paused and then looked from Sam to Eri and back again before firmly replying, "No."

"Why not?"

"Do you not remember what happened with Jesse? He was a kid and Cas wanted to kill him because of what he was. How do we know he won't do the same to Eri?"

"This is different!"

The older hunter threw his hands up in the air and demanded, "How is it different?"

"Jesse was half demon. Eri is half angel. It's different. And we know her."

"Well, that sounds like you've got your mind made up. Fine, you wanna call Cas, suit yourself."

Sam sat down on the bed and folded his hands together, resting his chin on them and closing his eyes. "Castiel, it's Sam. We need your help down here … it's to do with Anna. And we have someone you're gonna need to meet, so you might wanna prepare yourself."

There was the rustle of wings beside Eri and she let out a short scream, tumbling from her bed and scrambling to her feet. "Jesus Christ!" she blurted out. The stranger looked at her incredulously.

"No," he said, "My name is Castiel."

He was tall, but not as tall as the brothers, with messy black hair and blue eyes which seemed to bore into her. She took in his dirty trenchcoat and the crumpled suit underneath it, before looking to Dean. "He's Castiel? He's an angel?"

"Yes, I am. Dean, who is this?"

Dean crossed the room and stood in front of Eri. "This is Eri. Now, don't freak out, but she's a Nephil."

Cas shook his head. "Impossible. Nephilim haven't been around for centuries."

"Well, she's been around for fifteen years, so I think you're a little off the mark there. Either way, she's not a danger to anyone, okay? She knows exactly what she is and she's been practising her power for months."

He looked at Eri as she poked her head out from behind Dean. "How has she practised?" he asked.

"I started moving objects without touching them," she told him. "Little things at first: pencils, books. Then I slowly moved my way up. Biggest thing I've moved is my bed. I've also kinda learnt how to teleport, but where I was in the hospital, I haven't had much room for practice. I've had a few mishaps, but only when things have gone really badly. Usually it's stress that causes that."

"What kind of mishaps?"

"Once I set my bin on fire. Another time, I ..." She hesitated, before finishing, "... I accidentally hurt an orderly. I didn't mean to though! I had already taken my medicine, and no one had written it on the chart. He didn't believe me when I said I'd had it and he got pissed. Then, he … he hit me. I don't know how but I cut him. Got put in solitary confinement for two weeks."

There was silence for a few moments. The brothers and Eri waited with bated breath for Castiel's reaction. Slowly, he nodded. "I see," he said. "Well, welcome to our cause, Eri. Now, what's the problem with Anna?"

* * *

Eri watched as Cas drew a symbol on the table in chalk, connecting bowls full of various ingredients. Dean paced around the room with his hands on his hips. Castiel had just returned from his meeting with Anna, and as he explained it, the meeting had not gone well.

"Really? Anna?" Dean asked. "I don't believe it."

"It's true."

"So she's gone all Glenn Close? Well, that's awesome."

Castiel looked up from his work and frowned. "Who's Glenn Close?"

"No one, just a psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits."

Sam seemed troubled. Eri watched him as he asked, "So, the plan to kill me, would it actually stop Satan?" Dean looked shocked at his question and immediately moved to dismiss the idea. Sam ignored him. "Cas, what do you think? Does Anna have a point?"

Cas hesitated. "No," he replied finally. "She's, uh, she's Glenn Close."

"So, can I ask, if this angel wants to kill Sam to end the apocalypse, why are we looking for her? Isn't that sort of walking into a trap?" Eri asked. "I mean, that would just be handing Sam over to her, and it would make her job a whole lot easier."

"Anna will keep trying. She won't give up until Sam is dead, so we have to stop her first." Castiel recited an incantation and the bowl in the centre of the table spat out a fountain of fire. The angel stumbled back a bit and then leaned on the table for support, head bowed. "I found her."

"Where is she?" Dean demanded.

He shook his head. "Not where. When. It's 1978."

"Why 1978? I wasn't even born yet."

The realisation dawned on Eri. "She knows she can't get to you because of Cas. She's going after your parents. Rather than killing you, she's going to prevent your very existence."

"Take us back, now," Dean ordered Castiel.

"And deliver you right to her? I should go alone."

"They're our parents!"

"It's not that easy. Time travel was difficult, even with the power of Heaven at my disposal, but now I'm cut off."

Dean stared. "So, what? You're like a DeLorean without enough plutonium?"

"I don't understand that reference, but I'm telling you that taking this trip, with passengers no less, it'll weaken me."

"They're our mom and dad, if we can save them – and not just for Anna – if we can set things right, we have to try." Dean turned to Eri. "All right, kiddo, you're staying here. Keep the place locked down, and -"

She cut him off. "Hell no! I'm not staying. She wants you two dead, and if you're going back to the past, you might need my help. Plus, if Castiel's going to be weakened, you'll need all hands on deck here. Look, you know I can do this. I've got power of my own and they might come in handy. Anna won't be expecting me, she doesn't even know I exist." She smirked. "I'll have the element of surprise on my side."

Castiel nodded. "She's right. We'll need her. Eri, you may be able to use some of your own powers for the journey. It'll be difficult, but will you try anyway?"

"If it makes things easier on you. Just hold on tight and think of where I wanna go, right?" He nodded again, and started to pack things into a bag.

"Ready?" Castiel asked.

Eri smirked as Sam replied, "Not really."

"Bend your knees," Dean advised. Castiel reached out and touched the brothers' heads. Eri closed her eyes tightly and felt herself lurch forward. _This is it, _she thought to herself.

* * *

Eri felt her feet slammed down and wobbled, before toppling over. She threw her hands out just in time and managed to prevent her nose from smacking onto the rain soaked gravel. A hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her up. Dean's hands brushed her off quickly before coming to rest on her shoulders as he looked her in the eye.

"You all right?" he asked. "You sure took your sweet time turning up. It took you, like, ten minutes, kid."

"First time," she muttered, clutching her head. "Gimme a second." The nausea didn't take long to subside, luckily. "Where's Sam? And Cas?"

"Cas had a worse landing than you. He's in a motel for now, resting. Sam's right here." And sure enough, as she looked up and her vision cleared a little, there he was with a worried look on his face. "We found where our parents are. We're gonna go find them right now. You up for coming with us?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

He grinned and removed his hands from her shoulders. Without the support, her legs began to wobble and she pitched forward. Dean caught her in seconds, his arm sliding round her torso and under her arms. "Whoa, kiddo! You don't look so hot."

She shook her head lightly, mumbling, "Dean, I just travelled thirty years into the past, I'm bound to feel a little woozy. Let's just find a car and hit the road. I'll be right as rain in a little while."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

It was dark by the time they reached the Winchester home. As soon as Dean stopped the car, Sam was out of there like a shot, striding towards the house at a rate of knots. Dean jumped out and raced after him, closely followed by Eri. "Sam!" he hissed. "Sam, wait a second!"

"Dean, Anna could be here any second."

"What exactly are we gonna march up there and tell them?" he demanded.

"Uh, the truth."

Dean gave him an incredulous look. "What, and tell them their sons are here to save them from an angel-gone-Terminator? I mean, come on, those movies haven't even come out yet!"

Sam sighed. "Then tell her demons are after them. She thinks you're a hunter, right?"

"Yeah, a hunter who disappeared right when her dad died. She's gonna love me. Just follow my lead." He looked at the house with wide eyes and walked up to the door. Eri let Sam go ahead of her, trailing behind cautiously. Dean pressed the doorbell firmly. It opened moments later and a blonde woman stood before them, blatantly shocked at their arrival. "Hi, Mary."

"You can't be here," she told him.

"Look, I'm sorry if this is a bad time -"

She interrupted with, "You don't understand, I'm not – I don't do that anymore. I have a normal life now. You have to go."

"Listen, it's important, okay?"

Before Mary could say or do anything else, the door opened wider and a dark haired young man appeared behind her, clearing his throat as he slid an arm round her waist. "Sorry, sweetie," Mary said, "They're just -"

"Mary's cousins," Dean cut in. "Yeah, we couldn't stop through town without swinging by and saying hey, now could we? Dean." He stuck out a hand, which John accepted.

John frowned slightly. "You look familiar."

"Really? You do too, actually. Must've met at some time. Small towns, right? Gotta love 'em."

"I'm John," he introduced, shaking Sam's hand as well. Eri noted Sam's lack of speech, as Dean introduced him.

"This is Sam. And, uh, that there is Eri."

John looked surprised to hear it. "Sam? Mary's father was a Sam."

"It's a family name," Dean told him.

"You okay, pal?" John asked of Sam. "You look a little spooked." He looked down at their hands, which were still joined.

Sam quickly relinquished his grip. "Oh, yeah, yeah. Just a, uh, long trip."

Mary snapped urgently, "Sam and Dean were just on their way out." She looked pointedly at the brothers.

"What? They just got here. I'm real happy to meet folks from Mary's side. Why don't you come in for a beer?"

"Twist my arm." Dean grinned and stepped into the house. John lead him and Sam through to the front room. Eri lingered for a moment in the doorway with Mary.

"I'm sorry about this," she murmured. "They have a good reason for doing this, really. I just, um, I don't know how to explain it yet."

Mary folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. "Yeah, I'm sure," she replied sarcastically. "What's your reason for this? You don't even know me."

Eri shook her head. "No, but I know them. And they're practically my family now. They're all I have left. Just … Just hear them out, please." And with that, she followed the men into the front room. John had grabbed the brothers' a couple of beers and they were sat around a small coffee table. As Mary sat opposite, Eri couldn't help but notice Sam watching her intensely.

"You sure you're okay, Sam?" John asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm just, um – You're so beautiful," he told Mary. Eri watched as Dean rolled his eyes and John sat up a little straighter.

"He means that in a non-weird, wholesome, family kind of way. You see, we haven't seen Mary in some time and she's the spitting image of our mom. I mean, it's, uh -"

"Eerie," Sam finished for him.

As the guys made small talk, Eri looked around the room. A picture on the mantlepiece caught her eye. Slowly, she stood up and crossed the room to it, inspecting it closely. It was Mary, taken not long ago, with two guys on either side of her. One of them was short and slightly round. The other was tall and well built. Both were blonde. At the sight of the taller man, Eri felt her breath hitch in her throat. She knew him.

From behind she heard Dean ask, "Eri, you okay?" She turned suddenly, eyes wide and confused.

"Yeah, I, um … Mary, who is that man?" She pointed to the taller man.

Mary raised her eyebrows. "That's my cousin," she answered. "Julian." She looked up at the clock. "Oh, gosh, it's almost seven. I have to get dinner ready."

"Maybe they could stay," John suggested.

She glared. "I'm sure they have to leave."

The conversation was cut short by the phone ringing in the kitchen. "Look, please stay. I haven't met much of Mary's side of the family. It would mean a lot to me." And with that, John stood and left the room.

Mary snapped, "You have to leave now."

"Okay, just listen -"

"No, you listen. Last time I saw you, a demon killed my parents," she told Dean. "Now you waltz in here like you're family. Whatever you want, no. Just leave me alone."

Sam told her, "You and John are in danger."

"What are you talking about?"

"Something's coming for you," Dean replied.

She paled. "A demon?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly. Look, it's kind of hard to explain -"

"An angel," Sam blurted out.

Eri shot him a warning look, snarling, "Sam, enough." She could see Mary becoming more and more tense, and she had a feeling that it wouldn't end well if Sam started spouting a load of talk about angels.

"That's impossible," Mary stammered. "There's no such thing."

"I wish," Dean said. "But they're twice as strong as demons and bigger dicks. Now, it's a long story and we'll tell you the whole thing, but right now you've gotta trust us and we've gotta go." Unsurprisingly, she still looked doubtful of their story. "Look at my face and tell me if I'm lying to you."

"Okay, where do we go?"

He let out a deep breath. "Out of here. We've gotta move now though."

She looked exasperatedly towards the kitchen. "Okay, but what do I tell John?"

"Just tell him -" He paused suddenly. It dawned on them that there had been no noise from the kitchen for the last couple of minutes. "John?" There was no answer. They started towards the kitchen, only to find it completely empty with a note on the wall. It was signed, "Back in 15. J." They all exchanged a look and bolted for the car.

**Never fear, my pretties, I have returned! So, basically, this weekend, I went to Asylum 13 and it was the best thing ever! Even as I was watching this episode I kept thinking, "Holy shit, I met them!" And yeah, today I finished season 9 and caught up with season 10 and decided to crack on with this. I've got like, two weeks off school for half term so I'm gonna try and do as much of this as possible, and with any luck I can finish season 5. I'll probably post more tomorrow, but for now it's, like, 11 at night and I need sleep, so goodbye and enjoy and I'll update soon. **

**Beth xxx**


	5. The Song Remains the Same Part 2

**Chapter 5**

When they reached the garage, the lights were on and John's car was parked outside. It was empty. They bolted from the stolen vehicle and ran into the building, Dean charging ahead with the angelic blade at the ready. As they entered, they saw Anna throwing John across the room and over a parked car. Dean ran at her and raised the knife, ready to bring it down, but she turned just in time. Eri watched in horror as they exchanged words and Dean was launched out of a window. Before Sam could stop her, Mary had launched herself at the knife.

"Eri, quick, follow me," he urged.

She looked up at him. "But … Mary ..." He shook his head.

"She was a hunter, she knows how to fight. Come on." He lead her to the wall and pulled a small knife out of his pocket, slicing open his hand and using the blood to draw a symbol on the wall. "Keep an eye on Anna." So Eri stood guard and observed as Mary was slammed against a car and climbed over the top, stumbling to a workbench. Anna followed slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. She exuded confidence, even as Mary pulled out a crowbar and drive it straight through her chest.

Stupidly, Eri expected Anna to go down then, but she didn't. She just pulled out the crowbar. "Sorry," she said. "It's not that easy to kill an angel."

"No," Sam called, "but you can distract them." She whirled round and her eyes widened in shock as Sam slammed his hand down on the sigil. There was a blinding flash of light and when it cleared, she was gone. Eri looked around and saw Dean lying on the ground.

"Dean!" she yelled, running towards him. She crouched beside him and grabbed his jacket, shaking him gently. "Dean, come on, upsy daisy." He stirred and began to sit up, shaking his head.

"What happened?" he mumbled.

She took his hand and helped him up. "Sam got rid of her for now, using some symbol thingy, but I don't know when she'll be back, so we need to move."

"What the hell is going on here?" John demanded, looking at everyone in the room like they were insane.

Dean shook his head. "We'll explain when we're in the car and on the move. We need to go now, come on." Still looking bewildered, John followed them outside and climbed into the front seat of his Impala. Mary slid in beside him and the brothers and Eri scrambled into the back, with Eri sandiwched in the middle, completely unable to move her arms probably. Not because the car was small, oh no! But because the brothers were quite broad and took up the majority of the space between them. They listened as John drove and Mary explained everything to him.

"Monsters," he repeated. He looked over at her incredulously. "Monsters?"

She sighed. "Yes," she replied, the exasperation evident in her voice.

"Monsters are real."

Mary started to talk. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how to -"

"And you fight them? _All _of you?" He looked into the rearview mirror at the trio in the backseat. Eri shuffled her feet awkwardly, looking down at her lap.

She muttered, "Well, they've been at it for longer than me, but yeah. We all do."

He looked back to Mary. "How long?" he demanded.

"All my life," she answered. He gave a disgusted look. "John, just try to understand -"

"She didn't have a choice -" Dean began.

He cut them all off. "Shut up, all of you! Look, not another word or so help me, I will turn this car around!" Dean leaned towards Eri and Sam, whispering, "Wow. Awkward family road trip."

"No kidding," Sam replied.

* * *

They drove for a good couple of hours in complete silence before pulling up to an old, abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Mary went in first, switching on all the lights as she did, and explaining, "Place has been in the family for years." She flipped over the corner of a rug. "Devil's Trap. Pure iron fixtures, of course. There should be holy water and salt in the pantry. Knives, guns."

"All that stuff will do is piss it off," Sam told her.

"So, what'll kill it? Or slow it down, at least?"

"Not much."

She let out a mirthless chuckle. "Great."

Dean stepped forward, placing his duffel bag in the table. "He said 'not much', not 'nothing'. We packed." He pulled out a piece of paper with the sigil from the garage on it. "If we put this up, and she comes close, we can beam her right off the starship."

Sam pulled out a clay jar. "This is holy oil. Sorta like a Devil's Trap for angels. Come on, I'll show you how it works." He strode off to a different room. Mary paused for a minute, looking at John, before following after Sam.

Eri looked at Dean. "What do I do?" He regarded her for a second, thinking.

"Honestly, kiddo, I don't know. Up until now, you've been dealing with the minor leagues. This is the real deal."

"I know that, Dean, and I wanna help. Give me something to do. I can't just sit here and wait for her to show up, that's just dumb." He handed her an angelic blade.

"You can take this and be careful. Maybe see if you've got enough juice left to fight if you need to."

She scoffed. "So basically, I just need to warm up in case I have to throw Anna across the room, right? And hey, if all else fails, knife her."

He stopped what he was doing and leaned on the table, looking her in the eye. "I get that you wanna help, Eri, I do. But right now, we need to keep you safe. You're the last resort. Sam and I have dealt with angels before, okay? We know what we're doing. If we need you, you need to be ready to jump in and use some of your mojo. Other than that, you stay out of this fight as much as you can." He jerked his head towards the front room, gesturing for her to go in there.

She tucked the knife into the waistband of her jeans, bunching her shirt behind it so it would be easier to grab if she needed it. She could hear John and Dean talking behind her for a couple of minutes and then they passed by her, heading to a different room. She felt Dean's hand brush the top her head as he walked by her. Eri sat herself down in a chair, placing a book in front of her on the little coffee table. She cupped her chin in her hands and stared at it, focusing hard, willing it to move. It didn't even budge an inch. Letting out a deep sigh, she leaned forward even more. This was going to take a while.

* * *

It was frustrating at first, but she seemed to be getting somewhere. The book had started to move across the table and was now lying on the ground, slowly making its way to the other side of the room, inch by inch. A hand gently clapped her on the shoulder suddenly, making her jump. She looked up to see John hovering over her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She wiped a hand across her forehead, which was coated in a sheen of sweat. "Yeah," she replied shakily. "It's just … not easy, doing this. Normally, I have more time to practice and we're not being hunted down by angels. But we're on a time limit and I don't know how long that is and it's stressful, so moving a freaking _book _of all things is not as simple as it normally is. Basically, I'm probably going to be useless throughout this entire fight."

"Well, I guess that makes two of us." He sat down across from her. "How did you get into all this?"

Eri leaned backwards and let her body relax. "I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. When I was eleven, my dad was possessed by a demon, and he killed my entire family. I don't even know why. My sister was sick, so she was at home with my parents. I came home from school and walked through the front door and my mom and my sister were dead. My dad was waiting for me. He, um, his eyes … they were black. And he was still holding the knife, and he came at me. It was like my body just reacted. I freaked and he got knocked backwards without even touching me. I took the chance and ran.

"By the time the cops got there, he was gone. I started spouting a load of nonsense about black eyes and him being evil and got stuck in an institution. A friend of Sam and Dean's found me and they broke me out a couple of weeks ago." She felt the tears trickling down her face. "I never knew why he did it. Why a demon would want my family dead. And then last year I found out that it was because I'm half-angel, of all things. They died because of … because of _me!_"

With that, the book flew across the room, smacking into a wall and falling to the ground. Eri stared at it. John stared at her. "Did you do that?"

"Yup." She threw her hands up. "What can I say? It's both a blessing and a curse. I'm gonna say that's enough practice for one day. You need some help with those sigils? Beats sitting here and giving myself a headache."

"If that's all right."

She stood and followed him through to the bedroom, pulling out her blade and slicing open the palm her hand. She began to draw a sigil on the wall. In the split second between looking down at her hand and back up at the wall, the sigil had been ruined. The blood was smeared across the wall.

"What the -?" She looked up to find that John's sigil had suffered the same fate.

"Shit. Dean!" She hurried from the room. "Dean, we have a problem."

He looked up sharply. "What?"

She pointed to the wall. "The sigils. They're shot to shit. Completely useless."

Mary crouched down to feel the ground. "The holy oil is gone." The lights began to flicker. Eri could hear a faint whispering, which rapidly grew louder and louder until it was like someone was screaming in her ears.

"Surrender now! Don't fight this!" the voice shrieked at her. She clamped her hands down over her ears in a desperate attempt to block it out, but her attempt failed. Simultaneously, the lights and windows shattered, sending the group into gloomy darkness. And then just like that, the screaming stopped. Eri grabbed hold of Dean's arm.

"They're here," she murmured.

"They?" he repeated.

She nodded. "There's more than one of them, I can feel it. She's got somebody to help her." The door flew open then and a young man strolled in.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked him.

He stopped in front of them and smirked. "I'm Uriel."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." He begin to retreat, pushing Eri behind him until he and Sam were guarding her, John and Mary. As she looked to her right, she could see Anna standing on the stairs, just watching them.

Swallowing, she nudged Sam, pointing towards Anna. "We have more company." Dean looked from one angel to the other, and then back at his brother.

"Here goes nothing." He lunged at Uriel with the blade, Sam attempting to jump to his aid. Eri moved to block Anna from getting to John and Mary.

"Whatever you do, just stay out of this as much as you can," she warned them. "We're here to protect you, okay?" It was like talking to a freaking brick wall. John darted round her to grab the knife Sam had dropped. "John, don't!" She could only watch as Anna stepped over the knife. She placed a hand under John's chin, lifting him to his feet gently. For a moment, Eri thought she had changed her mind about killing him, but then she slammed one hand into his chest, sending him flying through the wooden wall of the house.

"John!" Mary cried.

Now Eri was the only thing standing between Mary and Anna. "Please," she said, "you don't have to do this. You can stop now, it's not too late. Just go back to your own time. We can handle the apocalypse, we can stop Lucifer."

Anna smiled sadly. "I wish it were that simple," she told her. "But if I stop Sam from being born, there's no more apocalypse. Lucifer will stay trapped in his cage. Millions of people can be prevented from needlessly dying."

"How do you know that? If you stop Sam and Dean from being born, then all the good they've done will be wiped out. All the people they've saved … they'll die. Is it really worth that for a chance? How do you know that someone else won't start the apocalypse."

"It's fate." She took a step forward. "Now get out of the way. I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

Sam moved to block her. "No, you won't," he snarled. Anna turned and put a fist through the wall as Sam moved for his blade. As he stood, Anna ripped out a plank of wood, driving it into his abdomen.

"Sam!" Eri yelled. Blood spurted from his mouth as he fell back into the doorframe. He slid to the ground and went limp. "Sam, please!"

Anna moved towards her. "I'm really sorry."

"Anna."

Every head in the room turned. John was standing before them, looking at Anna, his eyes full of disappointment. Anna looked terrified as he stepped forward.

"Michael," she breathed. He reached out before she could even hope to explain, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her entire body began to glow orange and she let out an agonized scream as fire engulfed her. In the end, all that was left of her was a pile of ash on the floor.

The angel fighting Dean stopped his actions immediately and dropped the hunter. "Michael," he whispered. "I didn't know."

"Goodbye, Uriel." He clicked his fingers once and Uriel vanished from sight.

Eri felt her body freeze and her stomach tensed as Michael made his way towards her. Instead, he went round her to Mary, who looked both angry and frightened at the same time. "What did you do to John?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

"John is fine."

"Who -? What are you?" He shushed her gently and reached out, placing two fingers on her temple. She crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Michael?" Eri murmured softly.

He looked down at her and nodded. "Verity. Daughter of Enepsigos."

She let out a nervous chuckle. "Most people just called her Diana, actually." She swiped her tongue across her lower lip. "Is she … Did she make it back to Heaven afterwards?"

"She did," he answered. "Right now she's in her own personal Heaven, and she believes that she's with you, and your sister and your father. She doesn't know that she's dead. She's happy, Verity."

"Good," she croaked. "I'm glad. And Lizzie? How's she?"

"She's happy too. Her Heaven is her last birthday, when you all went to Disneyland. As I understand it, it was the best vacation of her life. Verity, you and I need to talk, but right now I have to have a conversation with Dean. I'm not going to send you home just yet, but for now you'll need to sleep. This is a talk Dean and I need to have alone. Do you understand?" She nodded slowly and he gave a soft smile, before placing his hand on her head. She pitched forward and he caught her, laying her down on the floor, before turning to Dean.

"Well, I'd say this conversation is long overdue, wouldn't you?"

* * *

When Eri woke up, she was in a white room, sprawled out across a comfortable red sofa. She sat up and looked around, stretching as she did.

"What do you think?"

She looked up to see Michael standing before her where he wasn't a few seconds ago. His arms were folded across his chest. "It's nice," she answered. "But you didn't bring me here to talk about the décor. So, why are we here, Michael?"

"You need to understand how you came to exist. What you are, it's different from every other human, angel … demon."

Her brows knitted together. "Demon? What do demons have to do with this?" He sat down beside her and rubbed his jaw.

"Your mother, Enepsigos, she and Lucifer were close. He was close with everyone, but she and him were so alike it was uncanny. After I cast him down, she couldn't take it anymore. She started spiralling out of control and visiting Earth, taking vessels constantly. The less time she spent in Heaven, the better in her eyes. And then one day, she cut out of her grace and fell."

"She fell because she missed Lucifer?"

He grimaced. "Yes. From what I understand, she grew up thinking she was human and then she met your father when she was eighteen. They spent a night together once … I'm sure you understand what I mean by that."

She nodded, replying, "Yeah, they had sex."

"They did. There was a demon, his name was Azazel. Ask Sam and Dean about him. They'll know who he is. He had heard the rumours of an angel who had fallen to Earth and tracked her down. The night she left your father's home, he found her. And he raped her."

"So … what happened then?"

"You have to understand, I got this information from a demon close to Azazel, and I acquired it through … various methods. It may not all be correct. According to this demon, Azazel was under the assumption that you were his child. Half-angel, half-demon. He spent many months coming into your room after you were born, and he would feed you his blood. Given that you were Nephilim already, and the amount of blood he fed you, we believe that he altered your genes. You are not Nephilim now, not quite. You are also part demon."

She stood up and crossed the room. "So, I'm some kind of freaky human-angel-demon hybrid? Is there even a name for that?"

He chuckled. "No, I don't think so."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you need to pick a side. Lucifer or me. You could choose to make that decision based off your mother's love of Lucifer, or based off me telling you what you need to know. You have power beyond belief and with the right training, you could be a powerful weapon. You could tip the balance in this battle between me and my brother."

She tapped her finger against her lips for a second, thinking hard, and asked, "What if I don't choose a side? What if I decide to stick with Sam and Dean and try to wipe you both out?"

Michael replied, "You'll choose a side, whether you want to or not. Sam and Dean are both true vessels. I know you care about them and you'll end up helping one of them, whether you want to or not. The question is who that is going to be. I could offer you so much more than my brother. I could bring your family back. I could give you a place in paradise and all you have to do is say yes. I'll make sure you won't get hurt." She didn't answer. "Think about it. Take your time, sleep on it if you need to. Give me an answer when you're ready. It's a big choice to make, Verity. I don't want you to make the wrong one."

"I think … I think I'd like to go back now."

"I thought you'd say something like that. I'll see you soon, Verity." He touched her head gently, and she found herself in a motel room. Dean turned and grabbed her as she pitched forward.

"You okay, kiddo?" he asked her.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so. What is it with me and fainting all the time, seriously?" she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. Dean set her down on the edge of a bed. As she looked over, she saw Castiel passed out on the other one. "I see he made it back in one piece."

Dean forced a grin. "Yeah, if you call that one piece. What did Michael want to talk to you about?" Sam was watching her intently too.

"You can tell us anything, Eri," he told her. "We'll listen."

"It's a long story. And it'll involve some explanation on your part too. Starting with who Azazel is, and why he's important ..."

* * *

**Whoo! Chapter 5 is done! Thank you for reading, and I will be explaining more about Eri and her family at some point, but not yet. This whole thing connecting her and Azazel kind of explains why her family was murdered, but for now that's all you're going to know. Anyway, I'll try and update again tomorrow with the next chapter once I've written it. **

**Beth xxx**


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